Fifth grade student says bus driver’s rebuke left her in tears

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A heartbroken 11-year-old said her school bus driver told her she was gay and would burn in hell for it, and now her parents are demanding answers. The incident reportedly happened on Friday morning as the fifth grader was riding the bus to Pathway Academy, a Kansas City charter school.

First Student bus company says that driver has been fired, but the 11-year-old's parents say that's not enough.

"She was talking really bad to me and I didn't like that," Maurissa Rushing said with tears filling her eyes.

Rushing tried her hardest to explain a painful memory.

"She's just been the most horrible bus driver I've ever had," she said.

As her bus arrived to Pathway Academy last Friday morning, she said her driver let all of the kids off, but asked her and her best friend to stay.

"The bus driver, she took us to the back of the bus. We sat down," Maurissa said.

She said the driver told the two 11-year-old girls they were gay and would burn in hell for it.

"She said that we are gonna burn in hell real bad. I didn't expect it to happen," Maurissa said.

The fifth grader loves to play a game with her best friend on the bus. They chase each other's fingers up and down her arm. Maurissa said her bus driver told her she was touching her best friend too much, and she was gay for it.

"She hurt my feelings very bad," Maurissa said.

The 11-year-old says about 10 minutes later the driver let them off the bus and she immediately went and told a teacher and the principal, but her mother says she has yet to receive a phone call.

"I feel like she was all day by herself, dealing with it. How do you deal with that at 11?" Maurissa's mom Patricia Rushing said.

Pathway Academy says it isn't their responsibility to notify parents of incidents on the bus, that it is First Student's job to reach out. First Student says the driver was fired the second they found and is reviewing why parents weren't called.

"She's been through so much, she just did not deserve to be put in this situation. It's not fair," Rushing said.

The Rushing family plans to hire an attorney. In the meantime, First Student says it is conducting an internal investigation.